Insulated structure



March 15, 1949. 0. c. DAIBER INSULATED STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet l FiledFeb. 1'7, 1942 0M5 6. DA/BER.

VENTOR ATTORNEYS March 15, 1949. o. c. DAIBER INSULATED STRUCTURE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1'7, 1942 DOWN F/LL INVENTOR ATTORNEYS ammq nFla- 6 1- AM m mu Patented Mar. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in the construction of aninsulated structure.

.as horizontal or vertical tubes, squares, diamonds and the like. Thepurpose of all this quilting of the prior art has been to localize thedown or other insulating material so that its movement in the articlewould be more or less restricted. The use of small squares has resultedin localizing the down so that a desired initial distribution could behad, but this has meant that the initial placing of the down has beenthe final placing and that is could not be shifted when in use to meetvarying conditions of temperature, wind, and individual peculiarities orrequirements. The placing of the down in small pockets has also resultedin undue packing of the down and dimculty in refluifing to obtainmaximum insulation values. Placing of the down in vertical tubes hasusually meant that, after a short period of use, the down would shift tothe lower end of the tube, and difiiculty would be found in again evenlydistributing the down through the tube. If the tubes were horizontal,such as on a jacket, it was found that the down would be at the ends ofthe tubes under the arms, along the sides of the jacket, and that theback would be free of down. This was dueto the compacting andcompression of the jacket across the back. This same condition wouldexist in a sleeping bag; where a person was sleeping on the centralportion it was found that the down would soon be at the edges of the bagand the person would be sleeping very much upon the ground uninsulatedas intended.

The prior art method of quilting in which the outer and inner membranesof the material were simply sewed directly together has meant that alongthe seams the insulation material has been crowded out and a thin spotresults through which heat conduction has been very rapid, resulting incold spots and a general reduction in the overall insulating value ofthe material. Having in mind these defects of the prior art, it is anobject of the present invention to construct an insulated member adaptedto be filled with down or similar discrete insulating material in whichthe insulating material may be easily shifted about from one part toanother of the structure to obtain the desired insulating value atvarious points in the structure, and yet which structure will cause thedown to be retained in the desired location.

A further object of the present invention is the construction ofdown-filled jackets or trousers in which the down will tend to stay inthe medial portions of the garment, such as along the back of a jacketand the back and front of the legs.

Yet another object of the present invention is the construction of asleeping bag filled with down or similar discrete material wherein thedown may be easily placed along the medial lines of the bag.

Another object of the present invention is the construction of aninsulated structure or garment having a series of elongated compartmentseach including a material localizing pocket or pockets, saidcompartments and pockets being of a size to allow easy shiftingtherethrough of a discrete insulating material loosely placed therein.

A still further object of the present invention is the construction ofan insulated structure or garment having a series of elongated V-shapedcompartments, each including a material localizing pocket or pockets,the compartments and pockets being of a size to allow easy shiftingtherethrough of, and having placed therein, a discrete insulatingmaterial.

Another and further object of the present inventionis the provision inan insulated structure or garment of webbing connecting the inner andouter membranes of the garment and determining the spacing apart of saidmembranes, and forming therewith a series of compartments.

These defects of the prior art have been remedied and these objectsattained by the construction of an insulated structure or garment havinginner and outer membranes which are spaced apart by means of a webbingwhich determines the spacing of said membranes and forms therewith aseries of elongated compartments each including a material localizingpocket, such as the formation of compartments in the form of Vs with thepoint of the V forming a material 10- calizing pocket, or the provisionof several pockets which are in communication to form a compartment. Theinvention includes forming compartment pockets of a size to allow easyshifting therethrough of, and having placed loosely therein, a discreteinsulating material such as down. In the construction of a jacket thepoint of the V of the compartment is placed medially of the jacket andpointing downwardly, so that in wearing the jacket, the down will tendto accumulate along the middle of the back and to be fairly evenlydistributed over the back in spite of compression or collapse during thewearing action tending to force the down outwardly toward the sides ofthe jacket. This construction may also be used in trousers and insleeping bags.

As will be apparent from the hereinafter disclosure, these objects andothers are obtained, and these defects remedied by means of the de vicesand construction shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an insulated structure,such as a sleeping bag, embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of a structure similar to thatshown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a modified webbing assembly.

Figure 4 is an elevation View of the back of a jacket embodying thepresent invention.

Figure 5 is a perspective View of a sleeping bag embodying the presentinvention.

Figure 6 shows the application of the present invention to a pair oftrousers.

Figure 7 is a sectional view in elevation on the line 7-1 of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a modification of the present invention showing aconstruction wherein webbing is not used.

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a modification.

Figure l show-s two membranes 6, 2 which have their spacing determinedby means of a series of strips of webbing 3, 3, 5, 8, l, 3 and so forth.The membranes i, 2 may be made of any fabric such as balloon silk,lightweight canvas, or other suitable material, and the webbing may beof a similar material, The webbing 3, i is used to define the outeredges of the structure, while the inner webbing 5, 6, 7, 8 is placed inthe form of Vs. Each of the inner points i 8, i2, it etc, of the VS forma localizing pocket which will tend to retain the down in that portionof the V-shaped compartment. In many of the prior art devices it hasbeen the practice to make the tubes containing the down of a rathernarrow construction so that the down could not easily move along thetube and hence would tend to remain in position. This structure hasresulted in undue compacting of the down, thus increasing the weight ofdown necessary as well as shortening the liie of the down. due to thepacking effect.

Applicant has found that by means of the use of localizing pockets hecan use much down for a given insulation value and also make his pocketsor tubes much wider so that the down may more easily move along thetubes with the result that the down is not compacted. and the life ofthe down is increased. The actual width of the tubes is a matter ofjudgment, but they should be wide enough so that the down can be movedrather easily along the tubes by shaking or patting the garment orstructure. If a V-shaped tubular construction is not used, the width orcross-sectional area of the tube should still be suiiicient and theloading of material into the tube should be light enough so that upon orshaking the material it will move rather easily along the tube. Ofcourse, the down should not be compacted or crushed by the initialfilling to such an extent that movement of the down along the tubes isrendered difiicult if not next to impossible.

As is clearly evidenced from Figure 1 the edge panels or webs as well asthe central V webs are stitched both to the upper and lower membranes.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of a portion of the structure shown in Figure1, while Figure 9 shows a modification thereof particularly useful invery Wide structures such as double sleeping bags, where a series ofpockets TH, 22, 23, 24 and 25 may be formed across the width of thestructure so that the insulation material may be retained in the desiredposition by the individual pockets, and prevented from moving along thetube thereby.

Figure 4 exemplifies the present invention applied to a jacket. It willbe noted that the downretaining pockets, 3i, 32, 33 and so forth areranged along the medial portion of the back of the garment. As thegarment is used and pressure is applied across the back of the garment,the pressure will tend to force the down to the edges of the jacketunderneath the arms, but this tendency will be counteracted by theU-shaped construction of the down compartments which will tend to workthe down toward the middle of the jacket and, hence, to give a uniforminsulation across the jacket. This tendency may be predetermined andaltered as desired by varying the angle of the vs, or by constructingthe quilting or webbing with a series of V-shaped intercommunicatingpockets across the back, in the manner shown in Figure 9.

Figure 3 shows a further modification of the present invention, in whichan added web H has been applied medially of the insulating members inorder to divide the down evenly between the two sides of the V-shapedcompartments of the structure. Figure 6 shows the present inventionapplied to a pair of trousers having inner and outer membranes, andwebbing or quilting to form V-shaped localizing pockets iii, 52, 53 etc.It is believed that the construction thereof is evident from theprevious discussion.

Figure 5 illustrates the present invention applied to a sleeping bag. Asthe bag is laid on the ground, it may be shaken gently from the head,which will fluiT the down and cause it to move toward the center wherethe most insulation is needed. The use of webbing 63, 66, etc., to spacethe membranes apart and to form the pockets H, 12, etc., greatlyfacilitates this movement because it does not pinch the down at theedges of the compartments and also aids in increasing the evendistribution of the down because of the lack of thin spots at the edgesof the compartments or tubes.

Figure 8 is a modification of the present invention, showing theformation of V-shaped compartments BL 82 without the use of webbing tospace the two membranes apart.

In the present invention it has been found that down may be easilylocalized without unduly compacting it, thereb giving a lighterstructure and that without the formation of small separate compartments.The present invention allows the down to be shifted about as desired,and yet tend to remain in the desired position. It also allows aconstruction in which the down will automatically return to'the desiredlocation when, due to usage and stretching of the material, it is movedfrom such position, as by the use of the parallel V-shaped compartmentssuch as shown in. the jacket of Figure 4.

It has also been found that this regulation of the depth and thelocation of the'down may be materially enhanced by the use of thewebbing shown in the various modifications. Garments made in accordancewith the above disclosures are lighter and warmer and more serviceablethan those of the prior art,

The membrane referred to here is any thin,-

soft, pliable sheet or layer of animal, vegetable or mineral materialsuch as a sheet of paper, cloth, skin, or the like.

The webbing may be of the same material as the membranes or any piece oftextile of similar material, of considerable length, fair breadth, andlittle thickness.

The term filling said compartments, when used in reference to thematerial therein, is used to designate the desired amount of materialwithout reference to the actual quantity or density thereof. The termgarment is used to designate an article of personal wearing apparel suchas coats, jackets, trousers, sleeping bags, etc.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A garment, comprising: inner and outer membranes, forming a series ofnested and closed downwardly pointed elongated V-shaped compartments,with the apex of each V-shaped compartment being closed to preventcommunication between the two legs of such compartment; saidcompartments being of a size to allow easy shift- Number ingtherethrough of, and having placed loosely therein, a discreteinsulating material.

2. A garment panel, comprising: means forming a single series ofelongated closed V-shaped compartments with the points of saidcompartments placed medially of the garment, all of said compartmentshaving the points thereof unidirectionally disposed and being of a sizeto allow easy shifting therein of, and having placed loosely therein, adiscrete insulating material.

OME C. DAIBER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Sullivan June 22, 1909 Abrams June 27,1922 Bernstein Oct. 18, 1931 Coughlin July 4, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTSCountry Date Denmark Jan. 14, 1935 Number

